Hiking Maryland Heights

Don't these pictures make you miss late spring? They sure make me miss it.

I've decided to do an updated post on Maryland Heights...

Maryland Heights is a hike that’s close to home and is my go-to if I want to get a good hike in without traveling far. The hike has two outlooks. If you chose to visit both outlooks, the whole hike is around 5 miles but I usually just hike to the lower outlook which is a little over 3 miles round trip. The vista from the lower outlook is beautiful, there’s plenty of rocks to sit on and you can look down on the little historical town of Harpers Ferry and see where the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers meet one another (also if you’re lucky some trains will pass over the bridges).

The Shenandoah River is flowing in from the left and appears to be more green & the Potomac River is flowing in from the right and appears to be more brown.

From the lower outlook it's about a mile farther to reach the higher outlook which has a fantastic view of the river. In addition, along the trail there are historical sites and signs to add a little something extra to the hike.The only negative thing I have to say about this hike is unless you go during the day Monday-Friday you’re not going to have any solitude... this outlook is definitely very crowded on weekends.

Harpers Ferry is seriously such a great area. There are multiple adventure companies that offer kayaking, canoeing, tubing, and zip-lining adventures in the area. There are also a few different camp sites, see my favorite one here. If you're a history nut, the town of Harpers Ferry offers tours, and is ripe with history from the civil war. The C&O Canal runs right beside the river on the opposite side of Harpers Ferry and is a great path to go for a run, a walk or a bike ride. In addition, there are tons of paths that lead down to sandy beaches and big rocks along the river and during the summer it's a great place to go and cool off. Harpers Ferry and the C&O Canal are connected by a bridge that runs right beside a train track.

For info on the Maryland Heights hike go here.
For info on the town of Harpers Ferry go here.
For info on adventure parks in Harpers Ferry go hereherehere and here.
For info on biking on the C&O Canal go here.
For info on climbing at Harpers Ferry go here.